Minnesota Catholic diocese facing lawsuit

A civil lawsuit has been filed against the Diocese of Duluth by a 55-year-old man who says he was abused by a priest as a young boy.

The lawsuit is the first in St. Louis County under Minnesota's new law creating a three-year window for past victims of childhood abuse to file a civil suit against their abuser or the institution that may have allowed the abuse.

Michael DeRoche's lawsuit asks for more than $50,000. It also wants the diocese to release the names of priests who have been "credibly accused" of molesting children.

The Duluth News Tribune says the lawsuit claims the diocese admitted in 2004 that there were 17 priests who worked in the diocese who had been accused of assaulting minors, but the names of those priests have not been made public.

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